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Effective Employers - The Evolving Workforce

: The Evolving WorkforcecontEnts 3
EffEctivE EmployErs infographic 4 introduction 5 KEy factors in a good EmployEr 7 Boss rating 8 Which gEnEration maKEs thE BEst lEadErs? 9 lEadErship culturE11 EmployEE rEWards and rEcognition12 form of rEWard and rEcognition13 prEparation for futurE succEss14 WillingnEss to rEcommEnd currEnt EmployEr15 rEasons for a positivE rEcommEndation16 rEasons for a nEgativE rEcommEndation17 conclusion21 aBout this rEport2

release: NOVEMBER 2011 : The
Evolving Workforce Survey population: 97,000 location: 30 countrieseffective employersWhen asked to rate their bosses, employees have delivered a modest passing grade for the performance of their leaders, with a score of 6.4 out of 10.preparation for future success recognition and rewards at workWorldwide, only 37% say their bosses have done agood job in preparing them for the future. However,44 percent in the Americas believe their bosses havedone a good job preparing them for success. Less than half (44%) of repondents say their efforts at work are recognized and rewarded. Of those recognized, they say it takes the form of: 44% 37% americas emea 38% apac 67% 17% 12% Noticed by Bonuses Formal program 45% 37% 17% management Not well Well Unsure prepared prepared leadership culturemost important quality of a good boss While nearly one-third of all respondents describe their organization’s leadership culture as oppressive or authoritative, it is the younger workers who are more likely to view their employers in a positive light. 26% 24% 19% 15 % oppressive/ authoritative 31% 48 empowering/ % inclusive Leadership Vision Communication Teamworkwill employees recommend employers? the leading generation Members of gen X are considered to be the 52% YES best leaders by both Gen Y and Gen X, while 48% NO baby boomers strongly believe that they make superior business leaders.3

: The Evolving WorkforceintroductionapproXimatEly 97,000
pEoplE from 30 countriEs across thE amEricas, apac, andEmEa rEgions rEspondEd to a WorKplacE survEy dEvElopEd By KElly sErvicEs®.thE KElly gloBal WorKforcE indEX (KgWi) rEvEalEd opinions aBout WorK andthE WorKplacE from a gEnErational viEWpoint.survey respondents ranged in age from 18 to 65 and this report highlights responses to questions regardingcomprised the following generational groups: Effective Employers/Employer of Choice. the questions focused on:generation y (age 18 – 29), generation X (age 30 – 47),and the Baby Boomer generation (age 48 – 65). • The key factors that make a good employer • The particular generational age group that makes the global survey was open to everyone, with no the best leadersrestrictions. to that end, respondents were either • The prevailing leadership culture from an employee employed within a variety of industries, ranging from perspectiveinformation technology to finance, or were unemployedand searching for future work opportunities. • The incidence and nature of employee rewards and recognitionEach respondent revealed their viewpoints on the • Employee willingness to recommend their employerfollowing four topics:• Talent Mobility• Social Media/Networking• Drivers of Career Choice and Career Progression• Effective Employers/Employer of Choice4

: The Evolving Workforcekey factors
in a good employerWhat factor do you considEr thEmost important in a good Boss?(by generation and region) 01 leadership style 26%according to the Kelly global Workforce index, the 28%most important quality in a good boss is leadership 25% 24%style, nominated by 26 percent, slightly ahead ofvision/clear direction (24 percent), communication vision/clear direction 24%style (19 percent), and teamwork (15 percent). 21%other qualities such as personality (10 percent) and 26%experience (4 percent) rate relatively low. 24% communication stylegen y tends to rate leadership style more important 19% 20%than older workers, who place at least as much 18%weight on vision and clear direction. 20% all generations teamworkleadership style and vision are considerably generation y 15%more of a focus in apac than they are elsewhere. 15% generation X 14%communication style in bosses is a significantly more baby boomers 16%important factor for employees in the americas. personality 10% 10% 10% 8% eXperience 4% 3% 4% 4% other 3% 2% 3% 3%5

: The Evolving Workforceboss ratinghoW
Would you ratEyour Boss on a scalEof onE to tEn? (1 = loWEst, 10 = highEst) 03 americas(by generation and region) 6.8globally, bosses have been given a modest passing 6.9grade for their performance, with an average score 6.8of 6.4 out of 10. 6.6the highest score is in the americas (6.8), followedby apac (6.5) and EmEa (6.1). apac 6.5gen y is more generous in assessing their bosses, 6.7with a mark of 6.6, compared with 6.3 from gen X 6.4 all generationsand Baby Boomers. 6.2 generation y generation X emea baby boomers 6.1 6.4 5.9 5.9 all countries 6.4 6.6 6.3 6.37

: The Evolving Workforcewhich generation
makes the best leaders?in your opinion, Which gEnErationmaKEs thE BEst lEadErs?(global result by generation) 04 gen y (age 18–29) 4%there is broad agreement across the globe that gen 9%X makes the best leaders, nominated by 44 percent of 1%respondents, compared with 21 percent who prefer 0%Baby Boomers, and 4 percent who opt for gen y. gen X (age 30–47)one-quarter say it makes no difference. 44% 50%Both gen y and gen X agree that gen X makes the 50%best leaders, but Baby Boomers believe that members 16%of their own generation are superior business leaders. baby boomers (age 48–65) 21%across the globe, there are significant differences as 10% all generationsto which generation makes the best leaders. apac has 19% generation ythe strongest attachment to gen X leaders, with more 51%than three times as many people opting for gen X than generation X silent generation (age 65+)Baby Boomers. in EmEa, gen X is also overwhelmingly 1% baby boomersfavored, but in the americas, support for gen X and 1%Baby Boomer bosses is almost evenly divided. 2% 1% makes no difference 25% 25% 24% 26% don’t know 4% 4% 4% 4%8

: The Evolving Workforceemployee rewards
and recognitiondo you fEEl that your Efforts atWorK arE rEcognizEd and rEWardEd?(by generation and region) 07 americasglobally, only 44 percent of respondents say that their 49%efforts at work are recognized and rewarded. 49% 49%approximately one-half of those in the americas 50%and apac indicate that they are being given duerecognition and reward, compared with only 38 percentin EmEa. apac 50% 49% 52% all generations 48% generation y generation X emea baby boomers 38% 40% 36% 38% all countries 44% 45% 43% 46%11

: The Evolving Workforcepreparation for
future successdo you BEliEvE your Boss hasdonE a good JoB prEparing youfor futurE succEss? 09 americas(by generation and region) 44% 29%globally, only 37 percent of respondents say that their 49% 36%bosses have done a good job in preparing them for 44%future success. 22% 39%forty-one percent of gen y believes their bosses haveprepared them for the future, which is slightly higher apacthan gen X (36 percent) and Baby Boomers (35 percent). 38% 39%forty-four percent of respondents in the americas 35%believe their bosses have prepared them for future all generations 35%success, higher than in apac (38 percent) and EmEa generation y(33 percent). generation X emea baby boomers 33% 37% 31% 29% all countries 37% 41% 36% 35%13

: The Evolving Workforcewillingness to
recommendcurrent employerhoW liKEly Would you BE torEcommEnd your currEnt EmployEr 10 americasto friEnds and acquaintancEs? 55% 29%(by generation and region) 57% 36%slightly more than one-half of all respondents (52 55%percent) would be prepared to recommend their 22% 53%current employer to friends or acquaintances.those in the americas (55 percent) and apac (54 apacpercent) are somewhat more likely to recommend their 54%employer than those in EmEa (49 percent). 54% 54%gen y is more likely to make a positive all generations 51%recommendation than either gen X or Baby Boomers. generation y generation X emea baby boomers 49% 55% 46% 44% all countries 52% 55% 50% 50%14

: The Evolving Workforcereasons for
a positive recommendationWhy Would you BE highly likely torEcommEnd your currEnt EmployEr?(by generation) 11 work environment 36%the top three reasons for making a positive employer 38%recommendation are the work environment (36 35%percent), the nature of the work/challenging work (19 31%percent), and leadership/management (14 percent). nature of the work/challenging work 19% 16%for all generations, the work environment and the 20%nature of the work are the top reasons why they would 23%positively recommend their employer to others. leadership/management 14% 13% 14% 18% all generations upward mobility/career development generation y 11% 12% generation X 10% baby boomers 8% same values 8% 7% 8% 9% training opportunities 8% 9% 8% 7% compensation 5% 5% 5% 5%15

: The Evolving Workforcereasons for
a negative recommendationWhy Would you BE highly unlikely torEcommEnd your currEnt EmployEr?(by generation) 12 leadership/management 28%the main reason for making a negative employer 23%recommendation is the issue of leadership/ 30%management, cited by 28 percent, followed by lack 35%of upward career mobility or career development (23 lack of upward mobility/career development 23%percent), and a poor work environment (18 percent). 27% 22%the issue of leadership becomes increasingly 17%important as employees mature, while lack of upward poor work environmentmobility is felt most acutely by younger workers. 18% 17% 18% 18% all generations compensation generation y 9% 11% generation X 9% baby boomers 8% nature of work/lack of challenging work 9% 10% 8% 9% difference in values 8% 7% 8% 9% lack of training opportunities 5% 6% 5% 4%16

: The Evolving WorkforceconclusiongEnEration yyounger
workers are bringing a fresh and untarnished among those who do receive the appropriate rewardsperspective to the question of corporate leadership. and recognition, the most common form in which thisthey are free of many of the burdens of their older, occurs is having their skills noticed by management,more senior colleagues, and are in a position to while a smaller group receives bonuses or incentives.assess their managers on the basis of observation andperformance. they are marginally more generous than for gen y, the future is critical, but only 41 percent saygen X and Baby Boomers in evaluating their bosses. that their boss has done a good job in preparing themthey also place a greater weight on leadership style as for future success. yet this is better than the resultsa determinant of an effective leader. recorded for gen X and Baby Boomers.one-half of the gen y respondents would prefer a gen slightly more than one-half (55 percent) say they wouldX boss. only a small percentage wants either a gen y be prepared to recommend their current employer toor a Baby Boomer boss, but 25 percent say it makes no friends or acquaintances. When they make a positivedifference. recommendation, more than two-thirds base their views on three factors—the work environment, the nature ofalso, slightly more than one-half of the gen y the work, and the quality of the leadership. When theyrespondents are positive about the prevailing make a negative recommendation, the most importantleadership culture in their organizations, describing it factor is the lack of upward mobility and careeras either empowering or inclusive. however 18 percent development.describe their leadership culture as authoritative, and10 percent say it’s oppressive.When it comes to being appropriately rewarded andrecognized at work, gen y is no different than theirolder counterparts. less than one-half say that theyreceive the rewards and recognition they deserve.those in EmEa are more dissatisfied than those in theamericas and apac.17

: The Evolving WorkforceconclusiongEnEration Xfor
gen X, the single most important factor in a goodboss is vision and clear direction, followed closelyby leadership style. they give their bosses a modestpass mark—6.3 out of 10. they believe that their owngeneration makes the best bosses. they are moretolerant of Baby Boomer bosses than gen y, butoverwhelming resistant to the idea of a gen y boss.almost one-half of the gen X respondents describetheir organizational culture as empowering or inclusive,and a further 20 percent say it’s authoritative.only 43 percent say that their efforts at work arerecognized and rewarded, slightly lower than for gen yand Baby Boomers.Just 36 percent say that their bosses have preparedthem well for future success, ranging from 44 percent inthe americas to 31 percent in EmEa.Exactly one-half would be prepared to recommend theircurrent employer as a place to work. the positive factorfor gen X is the work environment, and the negative isleadership.18

: The Evolving WorkforceconclusionBaBy BoomErsfor
Baby Boomers, leadership style and vision are themost important qualities of strong leaders. they thinklike gen X when it comes to rating their bosses.But they stand in sharp contrast to youngergenerations, believing that Baby Boomers themselvesmake the best bosses. only a small percentage thinksthat gen X makes the best bosses, and scarcely anythink gen y is cut out for management roles.When asked about the leadership culture of their ownorganizations, the majority are evenly split betweendescribing it as empowering, inclusive, or authoritative.less than one-half of the Baby Boomers surveyedsay that their efforts at work are being rewardedand recognized, and only about one-third say thattheir bosses have done a good job in preparing themfor future success. one-half would be prepared toprovide a positive recommendation about their currentemployer to friends or acquaintances.19

: The Evolving WorkforceconclusionEffEctivE EmployErs
Wrap upthe latest Kelly global Workforce index results paint When workers are asked how well their employersa picture of a workforce that has an ambivalent, and have prepared them for future success, the results aresometimes conflicting, view about the role of managers sobering. on average, only slightly more than one-thirdand executives in modern business. say they have been well prepared, with quite divergent outcomes across the globe.there is a very clear view about the elements thatconstitute good management—leadership, vision, there will inevitably be a question as to how muchand communication all stand out. other traits such responsibility falls to employers and how much restsas experience, personality, and even a propensity to with employees for issues affecting career developmentencourage teamwork, all rate relatively low. and future success. in reality, shorter career spans and higher job turnover probably mean that more of theWhen employees are asked to give their bosses a simple burden rests with individual employees.score out of 10, the results are satisfactory at best.there are very few distinctions, and the message seems yet there is no less pressure on organizations, theirto be that employees expect better. managers, and executives to create the conditions that will draw talent, ignite a spark, and encouragethe question of which generation makes the best excellence in a difficult economic climate.leaders is particularly polarizing across the agespectrum. Both gen y and gen X say it’s gen X, while the message from the workplace seems clear;Baby Boomers say it’s their own generation. and the employees recognize real leadership, they know it’sidea of a gen y boss is a curse to both gen X and Baby pivotal for their own success, and they want theirBoomers. the stark numbers underscore the real tension bosses to provide it.that this can cause in the workplace.another source of anxiety relates to the way thatemployees are rewarded and recognized. across theboard, the majority of employees are unhappy. theirresponses suggest that it’s not necessarily more moneythat they are seeking, but simple efforts to acknowledgewhere exemplary work is performed.20